Marina Bay Suites over 90% sold but most unoccupied:What it reveals

Extracted from Straits times:”MORE than 90 per cent of units at the 66-storey Marina Bay Suites have been sold – though most remain unoccupied after being snapped up by investors who are not living in them.

Mr Thomas Tan, director of residential and marketing for Raffles Quay Asset Management which manages the luxury condominium, said there are residents living in only about 20 of the 221 units. So far, 203 units have been sold.”

Yesterday, an analyst wrote in a forbes article likening Singapore to Iceland. I think he is exaggerating, Singapore banks may take a dent in profits but they won’t require Singapore government to bail them out since their capital ratios are well above required threshold. In the event of a failure, Singapore’s reserves is still ample to save the country from any credit bubble bursting.

However, a property bubble caused by cheap money will eventually burst. Prices of property are already dropping, it will drop further. The vacant condominiums still looking for renters is a sign of this bubble. Rental rates will have to drop further to find occupiers and thus the price of condos will drop too.